Briefings

Canada does not need new pipelines, in spite of repeated misleading claims by the oil industry. That’s the conclusion of a new Oil Change International (OCI) analysis showing that Canada has ample pipeline Capacity to export all existing and under construction oil production to market from western Canada.

The recently released draft five-year plan for offshore oil and gas drilling is predicated on a failure to act on stated climate policy. To remedy this, the U.S. government should act quickly to implement a climate test in order to evaluate energy decisions on the basis of our national and international climate commitments.

The idea that greater pipeline capacity and access to tidewater would maximize the value Alberta receives for its tar sands crude is a standard talking point for industry, politicians, and other commentators in the ongoing oil price-induced recession in Alberta.

Oil Change International – October, 2015 Oil Change International joins hundreds of organizations worldwide that have written to the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) board calling on global reporting standards for extractive industries to include transparency from fossil fuel companies about the future viability of their oil, coal and gas projects in a warming world. Download the...Continue reading 'Letter to The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative calling for climate transparency'.

Over the past week, virtually every article on the President’s trip to Alaska to highlight the impacts of climate change, has in the next breath mentioned the President’s approval of Shell’s arctic drilling. The allegation made vocally by the environmental community is that these two things are deeply contradictory, and blatantly hypocritical. It’s an allegation...Continue reading 'A Convenient Lie: Why Fossil Fuel Supply Matters for the Climate'.

An examination of crude-by-rail data shows that the U.S. east coast has become one of the busiest regional destinations for hazardous crude-by-rail traffic. Oil Change International used publicly available Department of Energy (EIA) data as well as subscription data from Genscape to examine the growth of crude-by-rail to one of the most densely populated areas...Continue reading 'U.S. East Coast is key crude-by-rail destination'.

Today we’re releasing a new briefing, entitled “Lift the Ban, Cook the Climate: Why Eliminating the Crude Export Ban Fails the Climate Test,” detailing why Congress and the President should stand up to current efforts by the oil industry to eliminate the ban on crude oil exports.

Oil Change International- May 2015 Download Briefing The Canadian tar sands is among the most carbon-intensive, highest-cost sources of oil in the world. Even prior to the precipitous drop in global oil prices late last year, three major projects were cancelled in the sector with companies unable to chart a profitable path forward. Since the...Continue reading 'On the Edge: 1.6 million barrels per day of proposed tar sands oil on life support'.

Shell is currently moving its drilling rigs to Seattle in anticipation of resuming its US offshore Arctic drilling programme in July. However, it is far from clear that Shell has adequate physical or financial plans to deal with the impacts of a major oil spill in this remote region.